


The Residual Effect

by Aurelle



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures - Various Authors
Genre: (pls don't answer that), And really who wouldn't?, Book 02: Vampire Science (Doctor Who), Fluff, Gen, Missing Scene, The Doctor (Doctor Who) Uses They/Them Pronouns, i just want nice things for Joanna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29240871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurelle/pseuds/Aurelle
Summary: Giving up your eternal life might just have a silver lining.
Relationships: Eighth Doctor & Joanna Harris (Doctor Who)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	The Residual Effect

They would probably have said their goodbyes and parted ways with their new friends if Sam hadn’t fallen asleep halfway to the TARDIS. The Doctor couldn’t blame her; they all were exhausted. Carolyn offered them to stay at her place ‘till morning and the Doctor, gently holding Sam in their arms, gratefully accepted.

Somehow, the invitation turned into a quiet party for their ragtag group with some tea and leftover ice cream. Slowly everybody fell asleep in an awkward pile on the couch except for the Doctor who busied themselves with cleaning the kitchen and Joanna who felt too out of place to fully relax. She just sat there absolutely still for a long while, trying and failing to grasp her new reality.

Mina, again in her rightful domain, jumped on the counter to head-butt the Doctor, while they were cleaning and putting away the knives. They reached out to pet her and paid for it with a mean slice on their finger.

In their periphery, Joanna jerked and lifted her hand with a hiss. She stared at it dumbly and then turned to them, frozen in a similar pose, their finger covered in blood.

“Oh,” whispered the Doctor, careful not to wake anybody. “That’s interesting.”

“The bloodfasting?” asked Joanna hoarsely. “Shouldn’t it be gone… now that I’m… I’m not…”

“Our connection was strong.” The Doctor licked the blood away and smiled at her. “That must be the residual psychic effects. Don’t worry, they’ll fade away in a few days.”

“Our connection was strong…” echoed Joanna, looking somewhere above their head. So uncharacteristically quiet, as if still contemplating, she seemed almost lost.

They both fell silent for a moment.

“You showed me the universe.” She said eventually, her words hanging heavily in the quiet room. “It doesn’t really measure up to eternal life, of course, but I’m grateful. Truly I am.”

She looked up to meet their eyes. She sounded as sure as she always did.

“I guess I did, didn’t I?” They said and winked at her proudly. Then their smile brightened. “But I believe there’s one more thing I can show you. Come on.”

As they made their way up to the roof, Joanna froze at the sight of an open sky, its familiar blackness slowly giving way to the light of the morning.

“It won’t hurt you, Joanna.” The Doctor squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Not anymore.”

They led her to the edge and sat down, patting a place at their side. Their hand was holding hers the second she gingerly sat next to them and threw her legs over the edge.

“You don’t need to hold my hand. I’m alright.” She sighed exasperatedly.

“Of course you are.” They smiled again, making her ponder exactly how strong those residual effects were so she could safely throw them off the roof. “I’ll let go if you want.”

Their fingers intertwined with hers were cool and solid. The street lamps below them were going out. “No.”

“Joanna, look.” They whispered in her ear and nudged her gently. “Your first sunrise in almost a millennium.”

She looked.

And closed her eyes almost immediately.

And opened them again.

The sun was rising slowly, the great semicircle of fiery red not yet orange, reminding her somewhat of the Doctor’s blood. Its light flowed through the horizon, staining occasional clouds in purple and pink, flooding streets and windows, transforming the painstakingly familiar landscape into something new, something never seen before, changing it forever, changing _her_ forever.

“It's warm.” Joanna's voice was barely audible. “It's so warm.”

It'd always seemed like such a mundane thing, something that she could easily do without and yet she couldn't look away even when her eyes started to hurt.

The Doctor ruffled her hair and pulled her in a side hug.

“You’ve got so many more yet to come.” They said as she hesitantly put her head on their shoulder. “Treasure them.”

They sat there huddled together, watching the sun claim the sky, as Joanna slowly fell asleep, no longer afraid or uncertain.

**Author's Note:**

> Am I completely obsessed with the dynamic of two people with common goals but polar opposite morals that have to work together trying but failing to make the other see their way and slowly become friends against all odds that's going on between Joanna and Eight? No! Here's a playlist about it that I've made tho https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20qwT98GhTgbFWRGe7NyRI


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